Chicago Bears rookie mini-camp began in earnest on Thursday night when Bears' legend Charles Tillman met with the team's 2024 rookie class but players took the field for the first time on Friday.
Before practice, Bears' rookie quarterback Caleb Williams met with reporters and shed more insight into the Pre-Draft process. The main impression is that Williams seemed to confirm that since the NFL Scouting Combine in February, it was clear that the Bears were going to select him with the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Williams is the unquestioned starting quarterback for the Bears moving forward and it's a unique position as he is also in the early stages of becoming a leader in the locker room. Becoming a leader is one of the things that Williams spoke about when meeting with reporters on Friday.
" "To be a great leader, you have to learn how to follow first. So right now I'm following all the vets, I'm following all the coaches. I'm listening, having both ears open and my mouth shut. I'm just kind of sitting back listening and when I get to the point of when I learn everything, when I learn the ways of how we do it with the culture, the playbook, and what the offensive line, the receivers, running backs and tight ends are all doing, then you can start taking the lead.""Caleb Williams
Regardless of how one views Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky, there is no question that they were liked within the Bears' locker room during their respective times as starting quarterbacks of the Bears. However, when speaking with reporters, it seemed that both Fields and Trubisky lacked confidence, and that led to, fair or not, questions about their leadership.
Leadership is not going to be a problem for the Chicago Bears.
From a leadership perspective, the Bears are in good hands with Williams serving as the face of franchise. Not only does Williams' perspective on leadership prove that he is capable of winning over the Bears' locker room, but it also highlights how wrong some pre-draft narratives were about the former USC quarterback.